Many thanks to our friends over at MentalFloss for brightening our day here at Puggling. For those of us who remember our first Nintendo with great fondness in all its pixilated glory here is the greatest feat of Tesla coil music known to man.
March 31, 2009
March 25, 2009
Michael Steele Rap Battle
Embattled Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele rap battles Stephen Colbert with hilarious results. Enjoy some conservative rhymes courtesy of the famed Colbert Report:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Conservative Rap Battle - Michael Steele's Response | ||||
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A daily dose of Schadenfreude
Recently we at Puggling have become somewhat addicted to the website fmylife.com. The joy in reading this site comes purely from the often times hilarious situations people find themselves in. Bad things happening to people, usually with comical results (although some are truly sad, so you have to be careful). There is a general breakdown of 50-50 of people whose actions cause their life to be f***ed and those who are innocent bystanders. For those who are in need of a quick pick me up, reading this is sure to do it, as long as you don't mind laughing at other's misfortune. A quick example:
Today, my rescue squad unit responded to a 911 call from a woman who felt she was going to pass out. We knocked on her locked door a couple of times with no answer. Fearing she might be unconscious, I kicked in the door. She was about to open it and only passed out from the concussion I gave her. FML.
March 24, 2009
538.com and Other Musings
Our friends of at 538.com (and by friends, I mean people who I have never met) have been keeping us busy here at Puggling. They have in depth statistical analysis of a wide variety of topics, which are both very entertaining and informative. One of the most enlightening posts recently posed an interesting question on the $1,000,000 tax bracket. Basically, Nate Silver of 538.com posits that over time, the highest income tax bracket has been steadily trending lower over time in real dollars. This is also in combination with the top marginal tax rate trending lower. It is a very interesting read and I recommend people check out his blog.
One very interesting facet that this does not take into consideration is the rate at which some other types of income are taxed. Currently the maximum tax bracket on dividends is 15%. Today, an individual making $50,000 and someone making $500,000 a year both have the dividends on their investments taxed at the same rate. Adding another step in the dividend tax schedule, taxing dividends at 20-25% for those in the top tax bracket, would still encourage investments by the wealthy because dividends would still be an advantageous way of generating cash and also give the government a boost in income. While those who would fall into these top brackets most likely would not be pleased, the extra income to the government could go a long way on staving off potential ill effects of massive deficits (provided it is used in conjunction with current spending levels and not as an excuse to spend more).
One very interesting facet that this does not take into consideration is the rate at which some other types of income are taxed. Currently the maximum tax bracket on dividends is 15%. Today, an individual making $50,000 and someone making $500,000 a year both have the dividends on their investments taxed at the same rate. Adding another step in the dividend tax schedule, taxing dividends at 20-25% for those in the top tax bracket, would still encourage investments by the wealthy because dividends would still be an advantageous way of generating cash and also give the government a boost in income. While those who would fall into these top brackets most likely would not be pleased, the extra income to the government could go a long way on staving off potential ill effects of massive deficits (provided it is used in conjunction with current spending levels and not as an excuse to spend more).
Welcome!
Bienvenidos! This is the inaugural post at the site. I will be coming up with original content sometime in the future, and will dazzle the fan(s) with fun topics.
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